BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 27. A press conference was held at the office of the International Eurasia Press Fund in connection with the mine incident that occurred on April 26 in Azerbaijan's liberated Sugovushan village, Trend reports.
At the event with the participation of representatives of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) and media, a statement made by the International Eurasian Press Foundation was addressed to international organizations, UN agencies, civil society structures and the international community as a whole due to the mine incident.
“Following the incident, an employee of the International Eurasian Press Foundation (IEPF), driver Khazar Babashov was seriously injured. Babashov, whose right leg was amputated below the knee as a result of the incident, has been working at the IEPF since 2013,” the statement said.
According to the statement, for more than 20 years, IEPF, having joined the mine threat control program, has implemented numerous projects in this direction, initiated campaigns, repeatedly made statements and took an active part in organizing various local and international events, conferences, seminars, striving to contribute to the solution of this problem through his humanitarian activities.
“Operating since 2002, the IEPF special team has cleared more than 10,000 hectares of land from mines and unexploded ordnance. Unfortunately, Azerbaijan is among the most mine-contaminated countries. During the 30-year period of Armenian occupation, Azerbaijani territories were seriously contaminated by mines,” the statement noted. “The Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action is conducting intensive demining operations in the liberated territories of our country.”
The statement also noted that Armenia did not provide reliable maps of minefields, which grossly contradicts the provisions of the Geneva Convention.
Mines pose a serious threat to the lives of civilians since they were planted by Armenian military units not only in places of military purpose but also in areas with civilian infrastructure, around power lines, on cemeteries, river banks, on country and intra-settlement roads, the statement stressed.
Besides, according to the statement, since the signing of the trilateral statement dated November 10, 2020 (by Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders following the second Karabakh war) to date, as a result of the explosion of mines laid by the armed forces of Armenia, a total of 51 people, including military personnel and civilians, have died, and 244 people received injuries of varying severity.
Moreover, in the last week three mine incidents took place, as a result of which five people became victims of mines, the statement said.
The statement authors further noted that its main purpose is to bring the situation with mine contamination in Azerbaijan to the attention of international organizations, governments and the public to the current and call on the international community to take the necessary measures to support peace and sustainable development in the region.
In conclusion, the IEPF called not to remain indifferent to this issue and to provide support for its solution.
